As part of integrating evidence-based tobacco treatment services into your healthcare system or clinical practice, clinician and staff training is essential. On at least an annual basis and during employee on-boarding, offer training and technical assistance for staff on tobacco treatment interventions, current protocols, and other available treatment resources. Providing continuing education opportunities and/or other incentives can help to drive participation in educational learning activities.
Other suggested training topics include:
- Link between mental illnesses, substance use, and tobacco dependence
- Screening and assessment tools
- Counseling strategies
- Motivational interviewing
- Evidence-based pharmacotherapy
- Workflow training
- Strategies to work with priority populations
- Tobacco Treatment Specialist training
- Community referrals and resources
Tobacco and Behavioral Health Consumers
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States, causing more than 480,000 deaths among adults each year. Nearly half of those deaths are among adults with behavioral health conditions (e.g. mental health conditions, substance use disorders). Tobacco use not only negatively impacts an individual’s physical health, but it also negatively affects behavioral health treatment. Behavioral health treatment providers are uniquely positioned to address tobacco dependence among their patient population and can easily integrate treatment interventions within existing services.
This training video will provide an overview of the relationship between tobacco use and adults with behavioral health conditions and highlight evidence-based treatment interventions and strategies that behavioral health facilities adopt to promote and support tobacco recovery among their patient population.
Ask-Advise-Refer
Ask-Advise-Refer (AAR) is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) evidence-based brief intervention model for treating tobacco use and dependence. The AAR model is commonly used by organizations to make a referral to community resources, such as Quit Now Indiana services. When time or logistics do not allow for comprehensive tobacco treatment counseling during a patient visit, clinicians are encouraged to apply the AAR model, as even brief interventions have been shown to be effective and can be achieved in less than five minutes.
This video will provide scripting and video examples of Ask-Advise-Refer and highlight the Quit Now Indiana programs and referral options.
Treatment Strategies for Working with Tobacco Dependent Patients (5A’s)
The 5 A’s model for tobacco treatment is an expansion of the abbreviated Ask, Advise, Refer (AAR) model, which focuses on referring patients to state quitlines for assistance. The “5 A’s” are the five major steps to providing a tobacco treatment intervention which include: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange. This method has substantial research support for its utility in helping tobacco users across a variety of settings and can be incorporated with motivational strategies in a step-by-step process. Quit Now Indiana can be utilized as supplemental support for quitting in the 5 A’s model.
This video provides an overview of the 5 A’s of comprehensive tobacco treatment interventions, including strategies and tools to utilize during various stages of the quitting process.